Reola Marie Hodges Williams

Reola Marie Hodges Williams, 92, of Madison, Virginia (formerly from Norwalk, Connecticut) departed this life Wednesday January 10, 2024.

A loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and friend. She leaves to celebrate her life three sons Eugene Paul Williams, Jr. (Nancy) of Madison, Virginia, Pernell J. Williams (Perrie) of Davidsonville, Maryland, Joseph S. Williams, Sr. (Pamela) of Centreville, Virginia. Six grandchildren: Eugene Paul Williams, III, Joseph S. Williams, II, Gabriel P. Williams, Adam S. Williams, Kennedy A. Williams, and

Tina F. Gordon. One greatgrandson Alijah F. Williams. A sister Celestine Hodges Davis, Atlanta GA. Four sisters-in-law Natalie Tucker of Norwalk, CT, Amelia Young of Woodside, NY, Catherine Williams of Long Beach, NY, Lou Ethel Hodges of Durham, NC. Two special friends, Pearline Davis and Ruth James of Norwalk, CT and two goddaughters, Paula Davis and Cynthia Rowe. A host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Funeral Services will be held on January 20, 2024, at 11 a.m. Springtown United Methodist Church, Smoaks, South Carolina.

I never went because she had a lot of medical problems.”

Regardless of his mother's influence, Bertha Maybank said Richards was the only one of her grandchildren who took that influence to heart.

“I've got three other grandsons and they never

WASHINGTON — As Republicans make their case for the future, they keep getting stuck on the past.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spent much of the summer mired in controversy over new educational standards that call for teaching that slaves developed skills that “could be applied for their personal benefit.” Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley failed last month to mention slavery as the root cause of the Civil War. And former President Donald Trump last weekend called the Civil War “so fascinating” and said it could have been “negotiated,” sidestepping the fundamental dilemma of slavery.

Such moments reflect tension inside the GOP — the Party of Lincoln that abolished slavery, won the Civil War and embarked on Reconstruction — with the first primaries of the 2024 election just around the corner. Some in the party's conservative base, which is deeply rooted in the Deep South, are more willing to overlook unpleasant historical facts about the Civil War at a time when they feel under siege from the left during the movement to remove Confederate monuments and names from institutions. Others fear the controversy will hurt the party's ambitions to make inroads with nonwhite voters who may be repelled by minimizing the historical atrocity of slavery.

On the eve of Monday's Iowa caucuses, Republicans are increasingly frustrated by the dynamic and have sought to turn the issue back on Democrats.

“Quite frankly, I'm getting damn tired of the re-interpretation of history that I hear from Democrats,” Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann said at the listened to me. I always told them, ‘There's nothing out here in the world, go into the service and make something of yourself,'” she said. “No, they wanted to get in trouble. You know what, they straightened out but he listened to me from high school. He went into the service.”

Neither his mother or grandmother had a chance to meet Castaneda-Texon, though Maria Maybank said she had spoken with her family after the 20-year-old had died.

“I went down there. I gave them flowers. We